Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication setting technology for wireless communication.
Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an increasing number of products such as digital cameras are equipped with a communication function that uses a wireless local area network (LAN). Consequently, using the communication function, a digital camera, for example, is capable of uploading a captured image to a server on the Internet so that a plurality of users can share the captured image. To transmit data to the Internet by using a wireless LAN, the user of the camera needs to perform an operation to connect the camera to one of the access points (APs) of the wireless LAN that are located in the proximity of the camera. In other words, the user of the camera needs to input the identifier of an AP, or connection parameters including security system information, a password, etc., to the camera, and cause the camera to start connecting to the AP, in a location where the camera can communicate with the AP.
Meanwhile, an increasing number of mobile communication devices such as smartphones are now equipped with a communication function that uses a cellular system and a wireless LAN, and also near field communication (NFC), Bluetooth® low energy (BLE), etc. Note that NFC is a communication standard that is suitable for, upon a touch operation as a trigger, transmitting and receiving data within a short period for which the device is being touched. Also note that BLE is a communication standard that is suitable for maintaining intermittent communication in which, for example, one communication sequence occurs every second or so, over a long period, with low power consumption.
Smartphones have a user interface that is suitable for inputting characters, and in general, inputting connection parameters from these devices is easier than performing similar inputting from cameras in many cases. Furthermore, many smartphones have the function of automatically finding and connecting to a connectable AP by using, for example, connection parameters obtained by reading a QR Code™, or connection parameters input in the past. However, it is not easy to equip cameras with a function that is similar to the function of smartphones for reasons such as the cost, size, etc.
In this regard, using a camera having the function of receiving the connection parameters of a wireless LAN from a smartphone by NFC, the user can input the connection parameters to the camera and connect the camera to the wireless LAN by simply touching the camera to the smartphone. As such technology, Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2010-245748 discloses a technology by which a terminal device that is connected to an AP transmits the connection parameters for the AP to a camera by NFC, and the camera connects to the same AP. Note that equipping a camera with such a function does not greatly influence the cost, size, etc., of the camera because the only function to be added to the camera is the NFC communication function.
However, when using the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2010-245748 or the like, the user of the camera needs to perform an operation to start transferring the connection parameters by NFC in a state in which a connectable AP is present in its proximity and the smartphone has the connection parameters for the AP. In other words, when performing a touch operation, the user needs to know that a connectable AP is present in the proximity, and the smartphone has the connection parameters for the AP, which impairs the convenience for the user.
The present invention is made in view of the above problem, and in a communication system including a plurality of apparatuses among which information used for connecting to another apparatus is exchanged, the present invention provides a technology for improving user convenience when the information used for the connection is exchanged.